Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 4, Section 4: Collective Training and Selection for the "Detroiter" Commercial Aircraft
The plane landed on the runway, and the teachers who were preparing to participate in the selection all went over to watch, Fang Wen was no exception.

The aircraft's shape is already very similar to that of future small aircraft, with a fuselage length of about ten meters and a low height. It has a side door for boarding.

To reduce weight, the fuselage uses a structure that combines a metal frame with canvas and metal skin.

The wings are straight and have fixed landing gear.

The so-called high-wing design means that the wing is located above the fuselage. This design helps to provide better ground visibility and stability.

As for the interior of the aircraft, it has a very simple front and rear cabin structure.

The cockpit is in front, but there is no co-pilot's seat; a single pilot is responsible for flying the aircraft.

The cabin is located at the back, with two rows of seats, three seats in each row, for a total of 6 passengers.

There is also a small space at the very back for storing passengers' luggage.

This aircraft model looks much simpler and more comfortable, and it is indeed better than the old biplanes at school.

The instructors were immediately envious and all wanted to be selected to become the pilot of this aircraft.

Fang Wen also wanted to.

But in terms of qualifications and experience, they simply cannot compare with these instructors.

His only advantage is his good flying talent, which allows him to stand out in training.

He took this very seriously.

This pilot selection process was conducted in accordance with the requirements of the civil aviation company.

All candidates will undergo standardized training, and only one candidate will be selected based on merit.

It all comes down to how all the candidates perform after the training.

However, the foreigners from the civil aviation company only gave them one week for training.

It means that whoever can best control the flight of this aircraft within a week will be the winner.

As a result, the instructors returned to their learning routines after many years and trained together with Fang Wen.

The first three days of these seven days are theoretical classes.

The aircraft structure, parameters, instruments, and flight procedures of the Detroiter commercial airliner all need to be relearned.

Fang Wen studied this knowledge very seriously.

He recorded various data and would even go inside the plane after studying it to understand the true situation of the entire aircraft in a peculiar way.

In this way, he gained a deeper understanding of the Detroiter commercial airliner than others.

With this understanding, he had more confidence for his upcoming aircraft piloting training.

On the fourth day, the training moved into actual flight operations.

All trainees arrived at the school airport early.

After Schmidt, who was in charge of flight training, finished speaking, the translator translated:
"Except for that flight trainee, all of you have over 200 hours of flight experience. Now that you have a comprehensive understanding of the aircraft, I think you can perform some basic operations, such as takeoff, mid-air turns, and landing. I hope you won't be nervous. Civil aviation flights require stability and safety, and with your flight experience, you are capable of doing it."

All six trainees boarded the aircraft and took turns performing actual flight operations as instructed by Schmidt.

This is a very risky activity, but it can stimulate everyone to compete more diligently.

Everyone must be serious, because if a problem occurs, everyone on the plane will be in danger.

It was this bold approach that allowed everyone to get into the swing of things more quickly, and one by one they began actual flight training.

The first five have completed takeoff, mid-air maneuvers, and landing; only the text remains.

"Are you sure you can handle it? If not, let's end the day early," Schmidt asked in English, clearly not very supportive of a flight cadet participating in the training.

“No problem,” Fang Wen replied in English. During this time, through their interactions, he had demonstrated a talent for English communication. There was no need to hide this too much; after all, there were many English books and materials for flight training, and pilots in this era would find it somewhat difficult to learn without some English. He then walked into the cockpit, and the instructors behind him involuntarily stood up.

Under the watchful eyes of six pairs of people behind him, Fang Wen calmed down and began to operate.

The first step is to carefully inspect the aircraft's instruments.

Compared to older biplane trainer aircraft, this civilian airliner has several more instruments.

Airspeed indicator: Used to display the aircraft's airspeed, helping pilots to monitor the aircraft's speed status and ensure that it remains within a safe airspeed range.

Altimeter: Displays the aircraft's altitude relative to the ground, which is crucial for avoiding collisions with obstacles, maintaining altitude, and navigation.

Compass: Used to indicate the heading of an aircraft, helping the pilot determine the flight direction and ensuring that the aircraft flies along the predetermined route.

Attitude gauge (also known as level gauge): Displays the aircraft's attitude, that is, the aircraft's roll and pitch angles, helping the pilot to determine whether the aircraft's flight attitude is stable.

Engine instruments: Used to monitor the engine's operating status, such as speed, temperature, and pressure, to ensure that the engine operates normally during flight.

There's also a fuel gauge.

After checking the instruments, Fang Wen pushed the control stick and activated the flight mode.

As the propellers slowly turned, the plane began to emit a deep and powerful roar.

Pressing the accelerator, the plane slowly started moving.

At this moment, we once again entered a state of human-machine integration.

But the six pairs of eyes behind him revealed a hint of unease.

At this moment, Schmidt lost his previous arrogance and conceit. Standing behind the wide-open driver's cab door, he would not hesitate to take over if any problems arose.

In this tense atmosphere, Fang Wen increased the aircraft's speed and pulled the control stick.

The fuselage vibrated, and the takeoff was successful.

So smooth, it doesn't look like something a flight student with only 30 hours of flight time would expect.

At this moment, everyone finally understood why Instructor Liu had so highly recommended this person to participate in the selection.

He is indeed talented and a promising pilot.

Even Schmidt became interested in the script.

"How did you do that? I mean, two different models of aircraft, especially our company's aircraft, which is far more complex than your trainer aircraft. Why weren't you nervous at all, and why did you perform so well on your first flight?"

The long string of English text prompted the translator to consider how to translate it concisely.

Fang Wen replied in English: "It is indeed more complicated than a trainer aircraft, but I don't feel that the difference is that big. When I sat in the cockpit, I felt like I was one with the aircraft."

Schmidt and the instructors thought it was just a figure of speech, but they never expected that Fang Wen was telling the truth.

But this also proves that Fang Wen is indeed very talented in flight piloting.

After completing his aerial maneuvers, Schmidt made a request with great interest.

"Your performance surprised me, and I hope you can continue to maintain this level. Now, imagine you are piloting an aircraft alone into a thunderstorm. How would you manage to get the aircraft out of trouble?"

Thunderstorms are a common type of severe weather encountered by civil aviation pilots. When an aircraft enters such a cumulonimbus cloud environment, convective weather accompanied by lightning will occur, along with heavy rain and hail.

Knowing how to deal with this kind of problem is very important for civil aviation pilots.

This is also a way to assess someone's writing skills.

His answers and actions will all be reflected in Schmidt's scoring sheet.

(End of this chapter)